anugeraHitz.sg Predictions…

We’re just one day away from arguably, the most anticipated event of 2010 in the history of local Malay entertainment. Over the years Anugerah Planet Muzik might have piqued our interest on who are the current movers and shakers in this baby industry of ours. With the advent of anugeraHitz.sg, it has shown that there is progress being made, that there are more talents here in Singapore whose qualities and talents cry out to be heard and accepted by their own people, who sadly are more inclined to listen, idolise and worship acts from overseas. It also shows that from a stage of crawling, we’re now at a stage of learning to walk on our own. Yes there are shortcomings in many aspects but one cannot expect so much so soon. One cannot expect a baby to run even before he learns how to stand up unassisted.

What is a lead up to an awards show without the customary predictions by so-called “know-it-alls” aye??? It has to be said that I’m not much of an expert and past predictions on Anugerah Planet Muzik winners proved that I have lots to learn on what is quality and what goes through the minds of the appointed panel of jury judging the potential nominees. The latest issue of Manja magazine had Hafeez Glamour coming up with his own predictions. He did ask me a few weeks ago if this blog had any predictions in store and I told him I would be doing an entry on it a few days before the event. A word of caution though. Whatever I predict are based solely on my own observations. Any wrong information that is shared or wrong prediction made is very much regretted. So without further ado, I present to you my humble predictions on the potential winners of anugeraHitz.sg:

CATEGORY 1: ARTIS BARU TERBAIK (BEST NEW ARTISTE)

No.

Artiste

Album

1

Hyrul Anuar

Popular (Single)

2

Maiya Rahman

Pengganti

3

Sarah Aqilah

Biar Hati Mencintai (Single)

4

Shahril Bahri

Yang Teratas

5

Zaibaktian

Ejen Cinta

My pick: In terms of overall package like voice range, quality and looks, I look no further than Sarah Aqilah, though it has to be said that Hyrul Anuar & Zaibaktian will themselves be worthy winners should they win this award as they too are no slouches. Shahril Bahri seems a bit too raw for me and Maiya has been a bit of a yo-yo in terms of watching her perform live over the past year. But these awards if I’m not wrong, are based on their studio recordings and I believe Sarah has an edge in terms of both package and promise.

CATEGORY 2: DUO/KUMPULAN BARU TERBAIK (BEST NEW DUO/GROUP)

No.

Artiste

Album

1

Diorama

From The E-Motion Picture Soundtrack

2

Rancour

Rancour

3

Revalina

Pertandingan Cinta

4

The Sallys

An Unlikely Story

5

Verbalize Flo

Yok Goyang Yok (Single)

My pick: I think for this category, it is a straight fight between the two indie bands Diorama & The Sallys. What gives The Sallys the nod for me is that their ska-infused music is fresh and something that not many (the mainstream ones that is) in our small industry are brave to do. It is also not easy to have so many members in the group synchronising their respective musical elements to give their music a rather sexy appeal to the listening ear. Diorama though they have a clearer direction and vision, they have so far been disappointing when I watched them perform live, as the lead singer’s voice just could not reach the pitching level found in the album especially when he hits the high notes. This feeling of being kinda “shortchanged” is also partly why I pick The Sallys over Diorama. No disrespect to Diorama but I hope they could improve vocally so that they could match the standards that they have set.

CATEGORY 3: ARTIS TERBAIK (BEST ARTISTE)

No.

Artiste

Album

1

Didicazli

Diari Cinta

2

Hady Mirza

Sang Penyanyi

3

Syed Azmir

Aku Bukan Sempurna (Single)

4

Taufik Batisah

Suria Hatiku

5

Imran Ajmain

Punca dan Tindakan

My pick: The man with the midas touch – Taufik Batisah. This guy can do no wrong with every single that is being played on radio. Each one is sure to top the charts. If Malaysia has Dato’ Siti to be proud of and its number one singer, then over here, Taufik takes the accolades. He has shown maturity in every aspect of his performances since the day he won Singapore Idol in 2004. Little wonder that most local music fans I observe still see him as THE idol, with all due respect to Hady Mirza & Sezairi Sezali.

CATEGORY 4: DUO/KUMPULAN TERBAIK (BEST DUO/GROUP)

No.

Artiste

Album

1

Diorama

From The E-Motion Picture Soundtrack

2

Rancour

Rancour

3

Revalina

Pertandingan Cinta

4

Sleeq

Classiq

5

Sound Salvation

Rock & Roll Milik Sama

My pick: When I was watching the names of the nominees being flashed on the screen for this category during the anugeraHitz.sg Media Conference back in late February, I only had these two talented young men in my head as the winners. Like Taufik, they too have the Midas touch and their services have been hotly sought after by other local acts like Syed Azmir (Aku Bukan Sempurna), Aliff Aziz (Cinta), and Didicazli (Impianku) which are all hits on the airwaves.They even composed the theme song for the recently-concluded Cinta Ixora series, which goes to show the quality in their music has branched out even wider. You just have to listen to any of the songs they compose and without being told the names of the composers, you can clearly hear the distinct sounds that they produce belong to the magic touches of the people from Magic Potions.

CATEGORY 5: PENULIS LIRIK TERBAIK (BEST LYRICIST)

No.

Artiste

Album

Song

Composer

Lyricist

1

Aqmal N.

Warkah Cinta Dunia

Warkah Cinta Dunia

Aqmal N.

Aqmal N.

2

Diorama

From The E-Motion Picture Soundtrack

Anti-Romantis

Erza

Erza

3

Hady Mirza

Sang Penyanyi

Angkasa

Hady Mirza

Hady Mirza

4

Shahridzuan Selamat @
Shah Revalina

Setia Menanti

Setia Menanti

Shahridzuan
Selamat

Shahridzuan Selamat

5

Taufik Batisah

Suria Hatiku

Nafasku

Taufik Batisah

Taufik Batisah

My pick: Aqmal‘s subtle message found in his song seems to be the favourite amongst observers and I tend to agree with them. It is a beautiful song, one of the best I’ve heard from a local act and I really hope he clinches this award.

CATEGORY 6: KOMPOSER TERBAIK (BEST COMPOSER)

No.

Artiste

Album

Song

Composer

Lyricist

1

Aqmal N.

Warkah Cinta Dunia

Warkah Cinta Dunia

Aqmal N.

Aqmal N.

2

Diorama

From the E-Motion Picture Soundtrack

Sanubariku

Erza

Erza

3

Shahridzuan Selamat @
Shah
Revalina

Setia Menanti

Setia Menanti

Shahridzuan
Selamat

Shahridzuan
Selamat

4

Didicazli ft Sleeq

Classiq

Impianku

Alyph Sleeq

Didicazli

5

Taufik Batisah

Suria Hatiku

Nafasku

Taufik Batisah

Taufik Batisah

My pick: Again I’m plumping for Aqmal to win this category for the simplicity and beauty of “Warkah Cinta Dunia“. He certainly married the words and melody into a delectable concoction.

CATEGORY 7: LAGU TERBAIK (BEST SONG)

No.

Artiste

Album

Song

Composer

Lyricist

1

Diorama

From The E-Motion Picture Soundtrack

Sanubariku

Erza

Erza

2

Hady Mirza

Sang Penyanyi

Angkasa

Hady Mirza

Hady Mirza

3

Shahridzuan Selamat @ Shah Revalina

Setia Menanti

Setia Menanti

Shahridzuan Selamat

Shahridzuan Selamat

4

Syed Azmir

Aku Bukan Sempurna (Single)

Aku Bukan Sempurna

Alyph Sleeq

Alyph Sleeq

5

Taufik Batisah

Suria Hatiku

Nafasku

Taufik Batisah

Taufik Batisah

My pick: I was actually very surprised that for all of Aqmal‘s deserved nominations in the Best Composer & Best Lyricist categories, “Warkah Cinta Dunia” did not even make it to this list. Or even Imran Ajmain‘s “Jika Engkau Pergi” which achieved a gold medal for Best Original Composition at last year’s World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) held in Los Angeles, USA. Hady Mirza‘s “Angkasa” gets my nod for this. Though this is not a popularity award for topping the local charts since the end of last year and hasn’t been knocked off its perch, I believe the simplicity in its melody and Hady‘s own mesmeric delivery of the song is a killer combination. A definite winner for one of the three most popular songs in next year’s anugeraHitz.sg event if the organisers decide to hold it again.

CATEGORY 8: ALBUM TERBAIK (BEST ALBUM)

1

Didicazli

Diari Cinta

M. Nasir & Didicazli

2

Hady Mirza

Sang Penyanyi

Hady Mirza

3

Sleeq

Classiq

Magic Potions Pte Ltd

4

Taufik Batisah

Suria Hatiku

Taufik Batisah, Ken Lim, M. Nasir

5

Imran Ajmain

Punca dan Tindakan

Imran Ajmain

My pick: This category has deserving nominees in my opinion and it is difficult to pick out the winner as all five albums scream of quality, which any decent local Malay music lover should go out and purchase them. These five nominees are the standard bearers of our industry with their professional mastering, mixing, sound engineering, and overall package with hit songs to boot. But if push comes to shove, I’m going for Imran Ajmain‘s “Punca Dan Tindakan” album as it is both accepted by local and Malaysian fans for Imran‘s brave and unique experiment on old-school music marrying live strings, as compared to the mainstream pop, hip-hop, ballads and R&B, which the other four nominees are known for and have done in their respective albums. I’m also inclined to choose Imran not because I have always been a firm believer of his music and talents, but because based on what happened at APM 2004 where crowd favourite Hazrul Nizam was upstaged by Ferhad. I believe an album which is accepted by more people and also the jury (Azmeer who sits on the judging panel should know too well what the Malaysian industry is all about), should clinch it over more popular fan votes.

CATEGORY 10: ARTIS PALING POPULAR (MOST POPULAR ARTISTE)

My picks: This award will go out to the three most popular artistes by fan votes through calls-in and sms-es. Without having to scratch our heads thinking about the winners, I can safely say Taufik Batisah and Hady Mirza are definite shoo-ins. The tricky part now is guessing who is the third recipient of this award. Based on my observations and previous APM winners, Sleeq and Didicazli have every reason to have their hopes raised on clinching this award. Though I heard that Sarah Aqilah‘s fans are making a concerted rally, I think Sleeq would just about clinch it. The young ladies out there would make sure that the dynamic duo would get it.

I’ve heard rumours on artistes voting for themselves in the popular award category. Though it is not morally wrong, but ethically the popularity votes should reflect on the majority’s say. That is why in a country’s general election, even though a politician can vote for him / herself, he / she can only vote once and leave it to the masses to decide his / her own fate in the ballot box. All I can say is, to those who are hard up for this award, all you need to do is be more sincere with the fans and to yourself. You won’t die or get your career killed if you do not win this award anyway.

So there you have it, my predictions on tomorrow night’s grand affair, which sadly coincides with the big match between Manchester United & Chelsea. Football always takes precedence in my life but not tomorrow unfortunately. I hope no one blurts out the results to me during or after the event, unless it’s good news. I’m also gonna switch my handphone off to avoid spoilers as I’m only watching it when I get home. As usual, please accord me the time to write my review at my own pace and time. To those I would be meeting tomorrow night at Caldecott Broadcast Centre, I’ll see you there…